The Sundown defense gave up its first touchdown of the season Friday night at Slaughter Field. But that's not nearly enough for an opponent lining up against Roughnecks running back Garrett Carter.

SUNDOWN — The Sundown defense gave up its first touchdown of the season Friday night at Slaughter Field.

But that’s not nearly enough for an opponent lining up against Roughnecks running back Garrett Carter.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior ran for 239 yards and a pair of long touchdowns to lead Sundown to a 14-7 victory against Abernathy in a non-district clash.

“We were just wearing them down,” Carter said. “The offensive line did a good job of pushing them around, and the coaches were seeing the changes. I just moved around and found the holes.”

Carter broke through the middle on the first play of the second quarter and cut left for a 49-yard touchdown run, giving Sundown a 7-0 lead.

Eleven minutes later, Carter broke through the middle untouched and then cut right for a 56-yard touchdown run, providing the Roughnecks with all the scoring they’d need.

The two massive runs followed a slow first quarter for Carter.

Sundown (3-0) went three and out on its first possession, and Carter gained just three yards on a pair of carries.

He ran twice for two yards on the next possession before quarterback Chance Hinson was intercepted by Abernathy safety Victor Flores.

The third possession wasn’t the charm, either, as the Roughnecks went three and out one more time. To that point in the game Carter had touched the ball six times for only 11 yards — a rate that won’t do in the tight Sundown scheme.

“We had kind of a guessing game,” Jerry Palmore said of figuring out the Abernathy defense. “When we had them settled in defensively we thought we could get something big and we did. It just takes some time sometimes.”

Carter, who led all Class 1A rushers on the South Plains entering the game, has eight touchdowns this season.

The Sundown defense took care of the rest, clamping down on Abernathy’s attack despite often defending a short field.

The Antelopes (2-1) gained 176 yards of total offense, including just 69 yards in the second half.

Isaac Pierson broke for a 26-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, snapping a streak of 10 scoreless quarters for the Sundown defense.

The Roughnecks had previously allowed only a touchdown on a kickoff return and a fumble return.

“They’re pretty wide open for us, compared to what we’ve faced this year,” Palmore said of the Abernathy offense. “We were going to mix it up and find things that worked. We just made sure we didn’t let them get a big play on us.”

Pierson’s 26-yard run was Abernathy’s biggest play on the ground, and Justin Cannon had a 37-yard reception in the second quarter for its biggest play through the air. Lewis was sacked or tackled for loss seven times.

Early in the game Abernathy looked as if it was playing in its opener, flagged for 11 penalties and brought back 95 yards in the first half.

Payton Knight, Abernathy’s leading rusher, was held to 21 yards on 8 carries. He didn’t play in the second half after being flagged for misconduct.

Even more ineffective, though, was the Abernathy passing game. Senior quarterback Austin Lewis was 6 of 23 passing for 78 yards — half of which came on one reception late in the second quarter.

Despite the slow night on offense, Abernathy still had a chance to win the game with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Sundown failed to convert on fourth and goal at the Abernathy 9, so the Antelopes took over with an opportunity to show off their 2-minute drill.

But Lewis was picked off by Chad Hodge on the first play of the possession, crushing Abernathy’s hopes of a late rally.

“This made us better,” Abernathy coach Darrell Daily said. “It showed us we can play physical against a dang good and physical football team. They’re a good team and showed it. It really helped us understand that we can be physical, too, and we stepped up in the second half.”